february working blues

It’s February and time to knuckle down again to earn my keep. So i hoisted sails to moreton bay and then paddled upstream to Brisbane.

Tennyson on the southside of Brisbane, is the site of this multi-level multi-building development called Tennyson reach. This is part of a complex that includes the new international Tennis Centre and extensive public landscaped parklands, bikeways and pathways for jogging and walking. Tennyson Reach is a premium residential precinct of apartments. The site covers about 12 hectares and some few hundred meters of Brisbane river frontage. Units prices at this address start at $650K. I am not overly enamored by this address. But i had to make deliveries here for a couple of weeks. I found some notable discrepancies in the place but hey where is the perfect address eh?

During smoko i would check out the brand new Tennesse walt.. Tennyson ter... tennis centre it is, right opposite the units development. The Queensland Tennis Centre actually shares the same address. It has 23 international standard courts including clay, grass and hardcourt surfaces – the first in Australia to be built with all three Grand Slam surfaces. I didn’t get to watch the tennis there last January. I musta been dozing away in the early rounds of this first official atp/wta tennis tournament of 2009. The winner in the women’s event was the belle dina a-asar Victoria Azarenka from belarussia. I tried rooting for her by yelling out propositions: “vicky kasarenka” but she wasn’t taking any notice of me through the tv screen. Annoyed I wanted to annoy her back: “Vicky asarenka”. However that seemed to inspire her and she went on to beat former Wimbledon finalist French girl Marion bar Toli (I tink she’s a cousin of the Taulis from the mt province) 6-3 6-1.

So anyway the new tennis centre has an arena named after one of queensland’s favourite sporting sons: one pat cash, no it’s pat rafferty, get it right marto it’s pat rafter Arena, brother of the great singing sensation tina Arena. He is also related to Mac Arena who invented a dance.

They say pat’s a nice guy. In his prime, when he played anywhere around the world, he sure packed stadiums to the rafters.
Hey back to work.
Okay then. So who won the men’s?

A fellow who can do the tadek and does not panic is Brisbane’s new favorite stepson. Radek Stepanek overcame the tournament favourite, a guy - who did not hear the drums- called Fernando, in a thrilling Brisbane International final 3-6 6-3 6-4. Stepanek used all his wares to defeat the higher ranked rival - the mild as a tabasco - Verdasco, at Pat Rafter Arena and claim the tournament’s inaugural title.

Visiting Singapore - One year ago

Singapore 2008.

Palawan beach on Sentosa Island is a great family beach.

The Singapore Night Safari is a must-do.

Orchard Road - the retail center of Singapore.

There were Igorots on the streets of Singapore.

and surveyors.

And a lost traveller.

There is no Sangi in Singapore, just singa.

yearning for home in the range

A main street of Nanango.

The trip to Blackbutt turned out to be a rather pleasant sightsee of three towns. Although the job is in Blackbutt, we were booked accomodations in Nanango a further 35kms (30 mins drive) away. And on the way to nanango is the town of Yarraman, located at the junction of the D'Aguilar and New England Highways. Yarraman is a terminus of the New England Highway and also of the Brisbane Valley Heritage Trail (currently under construction).
I spent a total of three wonderful days in the area. As mentioned, this region is in the south burnett council, located on top of Australia's Great Dividing Range two hours drive nw of Brisbane. It is home to the State's biggest vineyards. More than 20 wineries and cellar doors, support its claim of Queensland's largest wine region. It is also home to two of Queensland's biggest inland waterways (a lake and a dam), the Jurassic-era Bunya Mountains and some of the prettiest agricultural country anywhere in oz. The timber towns of Blackbutt, yarraman and Nanango are located on top of the Blackbutt Range. They have a combined population of around 7,200 residents. Localities near these towns include Benarkin, Taromeo, Old Esk Road, Crows Nest Road and Nukku. The massive Tarong Power Station and Meandu Coal Mine are located 16km to the south of Nanango. The 11,700 hectares (about 25,000 acres) Bunya Mountains National Park is also adjacent to the shire.

The main street of Blackbutt.

These country towns have a friendly, relaxed and informal atmospheres. They have a low-humidity mountain climate of cool summers and brisk winters. The features include attractions that reflect historical connections with timber-felling, farming and mining. The towns are surrounded by a mixture of majestically tall eucalypt forests and hoop pine State Forests while the western regions lead into typical picturesque South Burnett grazing country. The areas have abundant wildlife and is popular with bushwalkers, campers and naturalists. In addition, the skies are insulated from urban light making them very popular with both amateur and professional astronomers.
Proof of this was one evening in Nanango when i opened my motel window to let some cool air in.

I must have hit my head on the window frame, because when i came to, i was on terra firma - supine on the hard cold concrete cement.

I looked up and started seeing stars- but these were real stars! up there in the firmament.

It was almost like when you're lounging in a pool in mainit - in the nightime after a long day, half-floating and with your head laying on the poolside - and you can look at all those distant constellations in the sky, that paul simon can only sing about, and city dwellers like him and me can only dream about.

' i'm gazing out the window, of the fitzroy motel. and i know no one has a roof as blue...'.

an older style house (nanango) next to my motel.

The area was first settled by Europeans in 1840s. Blackbutt was named for the eucalyptus piluralis tree which is native to the area. The name Nanango has evolved from "Nunangi". The original settlement near the big waterhole was called Noogoonida by the aborigines. It means place where the waters gather together - a large lagoon or lake). Yarraman itself means "wild horse". The population of the area only really began to boom in the very late 1800s when gold was discovered at several locations around Blackbutt and Benarkin precipitating a population boom. This was accelerated again when Yarraman became the terminus railhead for the Brisbane Valley Line. The early 1970s with the development of the Tarong Power Station led to a third population explosion. The south burnett relies mainly on timber, agriculture and tourism industries. The rich soils around support many rural industries including Forestry Department hoop pine plantations, horticultural farms, avocado and olive tree farming, flower growing and grazing. Nanango's principal industries are power generating and coal mining, agriculture, beef and pork production, dairying and milk processing, timber growing and milling, small crops, natural medicine, art and craftwork and tourism.

The Bunya Mountains, the overwhelming majority of which lies within the South Burnett, are an isolated section of the Great Dividing Range which rise abruptly from the surrounding countryside to elevations of 1100m at Mounts Mowbullan and Kiangarow (sounds like mainit names). I didn't venture there on this trip, but did spend a day & night up there a few years ago. The views are spectacular but the nights can be cool - even in summer - . The area contains the largest natural Bunya pine forest in the world along with a number of unique features such as natural grassland 'balds' (themselves composed of rare grass species) and both wet and dry rainforests. The Mountains are home to many species of Australian native birds including brilliantly-coloured king parrots and crimson rosellas, along with large numbers of rednecked wallabies, swamp wallabies and pademelons. Mountain possums can also be seen at night. Many native animals also wander freely around the picnic areas - but tourists are asked not to feed them (it's bad for wild animals to become dependent on humans).

as an aside:

The Bunya Mountains were formed in the Jurassic era and until the arrival of Europeans, they played a significant role in Aboriginal culture. Every three years tribes from throughout south-east Queensland would trek to the Mountains (often over a distance of several hundred miles) for special ceremonies, feasting, hunting and corroborees.
Timber cutters arrived in the region in the 1860s and began to establish sawmills to harvest the Bunya pines. However - once the uniqueness of the area began to be appreciated - public agitation for preservation of the Mountains quickly grew. In 1908 the Queensland State Government gazetted 9,303 ha as the Bunya Mountains National Park (the second declared national park ion the state). This was later extended to 11,700 ha - partly by land donations from locals who also wished to see this unique part of Australia preserved for future generations to enjoy. It's now proposed to extend the Park by a further 40% to further protect its fragile ecosystems.

All access routes to the Mountains are very steep and all roads within the National Park are narrow, so caravans and trailers are not encouraged.

On that magical trip up here a few years ago, i enjoyed lighting a campfire in the chill mountain air and toasting marshmallows. we also baked pizza in a wood-fired oven. in the daytime we mingled with kangaroos feeding them from our hands. beautiful rossellas also visited at meal time perching on our head, shoulders and arms looking for seeds. one evening a badly wounded possum was a guest at our outdoor dinner table. these 'wildlife' are all friendly and quite trusting of humans once they learn that we mean them no harm.

I suppose i mention this aside, in the hope that such an eco-tourism system can be established in the homeland someday.

If it can be done in aboriginal australia's great dividing range, then it can be done in the Igorot gran cordillera central!

ps

i did do a bit of sightseeing but my camera had some battery problems (of the made in china type) so didn't really get more scenic photos. there's always next time.

and also did see the sights of the inside of nanango hotel (pub) - twice! what more can i say?

oh - happy new year!!!

blacklisted but...

Some books to bring to the next work assignment.Some of the items are my housemates'. But it's good to have bookends and bookmiddles and bookheads thankfully not boofheads.
Where is a bookworm when you need one?
I might be in Blackbutt up to Christmas or even beyond, depending on things. Hopefully i'll have access to the internet there if my network card works. If not there's all of next year to blog for this bludger (bludge is aussie for avoiding work) - i mean ole bugger or booger (in the 'affectionate fellow' sense of the word).
So see you around.
Blackbutt is a town in the South Burnett Regional Council in Queensland. It used to be called Nanango Shire prior to the amalgamation by the state government. Apparently there's whispering pines there. See if i can hear their stories...

the road less travelled

this is at the end of the cooktown-cairns coastal road in cairns international airport, and i had to stop and smell the roses.
but before this vest reminds of the bright red colors of our own inabel back home-


the mountains too have a story to tell.
so on to the coastal road where stories of grief abound from those fools who dared venture where angels fear to tread.
since am no angel myself- and none the wiser too...

The 240km bloomfield track road trip from cooktown to cairns goes through some of the most beautiful coastal regions in oz. it actually only becomes coastal south of wujal-wujal.Before that it’s all rough mountain gravel tracks commencing at helensvale just past the turnoff south of the black mountain national park.
Pressed for time we didn’t have time to check out the famed lion’s den in helensvale. But then one should always keep something for next time. The rainforest commences soon after this well known pub (come to think of it, it wasn’t open yet that’s why we didn’t stop - oh those sleepy headed publicans).

and the road - there's been a million stories told about the road that one more won't matter. kerouac wrote about it, countless songs were written about it (a new road song that i know is called 'this old road' by kristofferson - check out his last album of the same name. an aussie road song with a good tune is called 'this road' by j blundell).
but hey what do you do when you come to a fork in the road?

one more close up view of the black mountain on the return trip from cooktown to cairns, where i decided to take the road less travelled by - and see if it can make me different. sorry mr frost, must be the hot weather.

There is a stark difference right here to the northern side of the range. The wet tropics is evident in the trees and the hills and mountains especially. I was blinking and nearly missed the village of Rossville nestled at the base of mt walker. The mountains here are perpetually covered by mist and clouds, as steep as the cordilleras and very thick in tropical vegetation. Through some narrow passes often on one side of a creek, the road cuts through cedar bay national park out to the village of ayton. The drive is quite quiet with nary a soul in sight. There is hardly any traffic either and just the odd old homestead. We drove past a couple of cleared grasslands near the low plains which had some cattle grazing on the lush green grass. But this sight is uncommon as a beach in the cordillera.

this is the bloomfield river, could be a sedate version of the chico, but during the rainy season could be as wild. note the cribbed retaining walls designed to counter erosion.

We paused for a few seconds gazing no more than a kilometer across to the familiar looking far bank and then I realized we did a 20km loop just to get to our side of the river. (imagine driving from bontoc to gonogon, crossing a ford, and then driving all the way back on the other side of the chico river, to get to samoki!)

Past ayton the road now follows one side of the bloomfield river. This is in fact the northern access point to the cape tribulation - daintree national parks.

The ford at wujal wujal can only be crossed at low tide and we were fortunate to cross there at the opportune time. Here the real fun begins. Steep gradients and narrow winding one way dirt tracks is what’s in store. Many an inexperienced and first-time driver to this neck of the woods would have happily turned back 40km or so to the inland highway. But am one stubborn been-there-done-that-and-seen-that sort of guy, so I drove on, though with a bit of trepidation. After a few creek crossings and a wrong turn, some roadworks, some equine traffic, and a few up-and-down hills, the road descended to a side of a river.

equines rule the world in wujal wujal. many of these horses and those handsome ponies are unbranded - meaning they're wild. free to roam where the tamaraws roam, 'cept there's no tamaraw here. although the filipino baker i met in cooktown said tama daw ako.

on second thoughts mebbe the baker's assistant said tamad daw ako....

cape tribulation. where the rainforest literally meets the sea. look closer at the photo, that's my hire hilux in the bush parked on the side of the cook highway - inches from the beach.
i was standing on a rock and my good man friday said to get off as there might be a croc lurking behind me.

This type of coastline where reef and mangrove meet the rainforest is very unique - found nowhere else in oz, and very rare around the world.

We drive another 20 km or so of seemingly impassable passes (definitely impassable to 2wd) through thick rainforests and dusty tracks (this road is normally closed during very wet conditions). We have entered cape tribulation national park and suddenly realized we were driving along the coast road. Glimpses of the azure coral sea out to the deep blue pacific ocean cays beyond come in and out of little slits in the thick rainforest. Trees dominate here in the rainforests. They form dense canopies with their trunks thickly slung with vines. They all form part of a rich and most diverse ecosystem.

Donovan point is maybe where the coastal road becomes coastal, although the coast looks very much like the chico river does from way up in the mountain pass just below mt data. Nearly vertical steep drops on both sides of the road, are camouflaged by the thick stands of tall trees without which one with vertigo would simply collapse. The next moment spectacular breathtaking views fill one with wonder and amazement, the next with horror at the steep drops around the tight bends. This visual and literal roller-coaster of a ride fills one with sometimes conflicting emotions. One moment you gaze in awesome wonder, the next in becalmed self-control.

So on to cape tribulation we come and more of dense rainforests, crystal clear creeks (but always with signs cautioning against crocodiles), and unspoiled coastlines with narrow strips of white sandy and palm-lined beaches. We start meeting other cars and not soon after hit the bitumen again – cape tribulation road, back in civilization. My emotions are still mixed – a part of me disappointed to leave the wild, but another part is relieved that we got past the ranges, and should now travel easy on our wheels the rest of the way.

(wheels? dunno what this is. maybe one or two halves guarding a turd - a third. but not the third rock son.)

We stopped a couple of times on the remainder of the trip to cairns. We saw some tourists and quite a few resorts and accommodation establishments, camp sites – facilities that offer amenities to visitors between cape tribulation and the daintree river.

rex's lookout. either the estuarine crocs or the dangerous jellyfish are out in force in four-mile beach.

The daintree national park sector of the wet tropics of queensland is one of the largest wilderness areas in Australia. This is partly why this area of far north queensland is a popular tourist destination.

We get on the ferry at daintree river (southern access to the daintree cape tribulation rainforest), drive past port douglas - stepping off point for the great barrier reef (the 2300km marine wonderland along the coast of north queensland) and get on the captain cook highway to cairns.

So on this trip I have seen two of 14 australian sites in the world heritage list – the wet tropics and the great barrier reef. Which one do I like more? I have always leant more to the wet than the great he he.

that 240km trip took 5 hours but in the wet season can take up to 5 days or even 5 weeks. geez that would be a stinker...

now where is that vest i wanted to try on...

listless reading

i am listless. meaning i lost my list he he. lucky i still have my wits. am wistful too. and wishful.

brings to mind "The Remember Song" sung by tom rush (written by walter stevens):
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=9yN-6PbqAPM
Looking for my wallet and my car keys,
Well they can’t have gone too far;
And just as soon as I find my glasses
I’m sure I’ll see just where they are... etc

so once i find my wist i mean wits er list... oh well.
i did pack some stuff to read but i was just so listless these few weeks up in the tropics. i did not bring all the above with me of course, especially not hawking's couple of heavy tomes - heavy reading that! but dawkins and adams (not in the photo - adams v god rematch) celebrated non-believers both- offer some food for thought.
clarke's collaboration with baxter was okay, but i spent most of my free time drinking, i mean drinking music in. i do have some good music in my laptop, not from oasis or rolling stone/s, but from the well-spring that produced 'like a rolling stone'.
now they say 'there is a man going around taking names'. must be the season for lists. he's checking it twice too i hear... what's his name bigbelly? leadbelly.
watch out.

the innkeepers

To close off this chapter on cooktown, i have to relate the story of the innkeepers.
when we checked in at the inn where we were staying, at the start of our sojourn here in the warm wet tropics of far north queensland, we were greeted very warmly by Sayah the owner.
She had a few guests that first week which kept her busy especially as she told us that her husband Peter travels quite a bit.
I rarely saw her husband, but one weekend i saw him collecting litter around the inn's premises and doing general housekeeping around the place. Around mid-morning on a Sunday he went around the rooms (about 16) cleaning up, vacuuming, changing linens and sheets and everything a motel cleaner would do. He even tidied up my room and apologised that he could not do it the day before.
A week later there was a bunch of kids (ages abt 7-15) and their parents having a pool party around the swimming pool of the inn. They were having an end-of-year awards for their football (rugby league) teams. Peter was obviously the coach of Cooktown's junior rugby league teams, and he was handing out awards and imparting words of congratulations and encouragement and the requisite pep talk for next year.
The next time i saw Peter, he was pulling litter bins out to the side road for collection.
I did not see Peter again before we left town, but i left a half a bottle of scotch with Sayah that i could not finish on the last night there. Sayah said Peter will enjoy it.

Back in Brisbane a few days later, i googled Cooktown to check on some local government data.
I discovered that Peter Scott, the innkeeper, junior football coach, cleaner extraordinaire, and husband of Sayah, just happens to be the Mayor of Cook Shire.

the dozer driver

Deliveries in an area the size of Baguio (this site is about 6km long by 4km wide), can be quite taxing after a while.


Hence we called in the big guns, the big pathfinder i mean, to enable us to deliver to the far ends of a couple of lines.
John, let's just say he is a woodsman is not the driver who dozes on the job, but rather the dozer driver. He is one of those who's done it all seen it all kinda bloke.


John has retired after decades of hard work helping to shape far north queensland what it is now. His task is to clear two long lines up to the base of the ranges, one line is about 3.6km long and the other is about 2.6 km long.
It's not as long as the mason-dixon but long enough for a deliveryman who is na ton-ton.

mark knopfler too drew the line, or sang a song about some gullible cordie lad who he swears made him mad. he was sailing to cordillera with a tailor, name of james. now if you believe that then he might be in dire straits. but that's mark taylor and james knopfler - as mason & dixon for you. ladies men, just like me. sometimes nonsensical he he.
Back to the story of John-
Yes John had been a drover, a bushman, a stockman, a builder, a jackaroo, a what-have-you, he was even a manager for a couple of years. Who knows he might also have been a lineman, like dason & mixon.

He is also a good mate of Barney (client's neighbour who owns a quarry next door) who gave his word to supply a bulldozer driver as required.

Unfortunately Barney's man could not make it so he sent an sos to his old mate from mareeba 280kms away in the south, so that's how we ended up with our dozer driver. John came out of retirement as a favor to Barney 'cause they go back a ways. On this job, John is staying with Barney and Barney's missus in town.








A couple of days working with John and i got to hear some of his stories.











To come to the gist of this tale, John and his wife raised three daughters. They raised them as best they could with a lot of blood sweat and tears (and mebbe a drop or two of some hearty ale).
John taught the girls his love of the outdoors and often brought them camping and fishing and maybe the odd hunting trip or two.







John is a philosophical man, and said that he decided early on that he was not going to be too fussed about what his daughters wanted to be, as long as they are happy with what they're doing.









So anyways one day, they got called up to the school to see the principal. John, as any parent would was a little worried and kept asking his wife about any misdemeanours their daughters may have been up to.

At the interview the principal asked them the girls' plans after they finish school.
John, in his no nonsense straight talking manner said could not care less what they did: "...they could be shovelling dirt as long as they're happy..."
It turns out the girls were very high achievers in the sciences and other academic subjects and the principal was concerned that their daughters potentials may not be realised.
And to cut a long tale short, John's daughters are a scientist, an executive manager, and a doctor.
And John drives bulldozers on the side... only if he feels like. Or so he can have that two week holiday overseas.

Coooeee...
I think that's John...
saying the line's now clear for us lazy b___s.
- bones i think he said...


you've long been on the open road
you've been sleepin' in the rain...

so only stop to rest yourself
till you'll go off again...

at this point i may be going to Blackbutt on my next job
will keep you posted.

sights around cooktown

each picture paints its thousand words, so i'll just add some captions.
cooktown is the closest town to the great barrier reef.

with mt cook on one side, and the coral sea on the other.

the lighthouse on grassy hill provides panoramic 360 degree views from the sea to the mountains - but you already know that. the rainforest meets the reef here.

alamanda inn is just one of the places to stay in town. a poinciana provides great color and shade and contrast and hue and...

if it gets too warm, there's always the pool just outside the door.

or when it's cool enough, there's the door outside the pool - road out to the loop, to have another gaze at the bays. cherry tree bay and finch bay are perfect for a picnic, fishing or sunbathing.

then when you get back from sightseeing, settle in for some fresh mango and coconut.

if you prefer water from the well to townwater, you got your wish, they have that too. just don't fall in or drop anything other than a wishing coin, it's quite deep. and be careful what you wish for - you just might get it.

want to getaway? try mt amos road.

not all the locals are as welcoming...

but trevethan falls certainly is. 30 km from town along some rugged 4wd only track, you are most welcome to skinnydip in the swimming hole.

now that you're washed and cleaned, let's go meet some locals.